Who do you Why do you think think this he is famous? is? This is George Stephenson. What do you think this is? This is called the Rocket and it was Built by George Stephenson. The life of George Stephenson George Stephenson was born on June 9, 1781, in Wylam near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His father worked in a colliery as a fireman. This is the cottage where George Stephenson was born. His whole family lived in the one room. When George Stephenson was younger he was interested in machinery and how it worked. He went to work at the age of 8 herding cows. At 14 he joined his father at the Dewley Colliery. He did not go to school until he was 18. He went 3 times a week after work in the evening and learnt to read and write. In 1802 Stephenson became a colliery engineman. Later that year he married Frances Henderson, a servant at a local farm. To earn extra money, in the evenings, he repaired clocks and watches. On 16th October, 1803, his only son, Robert was born. Robert Stephenson In 1815, he invented a safety lamp for use in coalmines, nicknamed the 'Geordie'. In 1819 George Stephenson got the chance to build his first railway at Hetton Colliery. In 1829 it was decided that there would be a railway built between Liverpool and Manchester. George Stephenson built the railway. The owners of the railway decided to have a competition to find the best kind of locomotive to pull heavy loads over long distances. There was a prize of £500 for winning. Each locomotive had to pull 3 times its own weight. The speed had to be at least 10 mph. The competition was held at a place called Rainhill. Rainhill is the place outside Liverpool where the trials were held. The competition took place over several days and each of the engines did the trial, on their own, against the clock. Ten engines entered the competition originally. Thousands of people came to watch this event. At the end of the competition the judges decided that the 'Rocket' built by George Stephenson had won. On 30th September 1830 the Manchester to Liverpool railway opened. It was a grand event. George Stephenson went on to build many other railways. George Stephenson died in 1848. This is a photograph of what remains of the original Rocket. This watch belonged to George Stephenson. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/famouspeople/standard/stephenson/ind ex.shtml#focus.